There are benefits to counting macros on the Kaufmann Diet.

One of the more recent diet trends is keeping track of your macros, or macronutrients. Macronutrients, of course, are any nutrient with inherent energy; these include carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. These three macronutrients are what your body burns as energy.

The Kaufmann Diet does not specify any sort of macronutrient proportions, per se. Sure, many of the foods eliminated are high in simple carbohydrates, but that is because those are foods that would most likely fuel a pathogenic fungal infection. The types of carbohydrates found in bread, pasta, and anything with added sugar are the types of carbohydrates that are recommended to be eliminated. Other foods that don't make the cut on the Kaufmann Diet have nothing to do with their macronutrient content and everything to do with their likelihood to be contaminated with mycotoxins, which are poisonous mold byproducts.

Ultimately, it is entirely possible to do a higher-carb version of the Kaufmann Diet, particularly on Kaufmann 2. Foods like quinoa, berries, carrots and even broccoli have higher carbohydrate contents than many of the other foods permitted on the Kaufmann Diet. Really, the Kaufmann Diet is less concerned with how many carbs you eat as it is eliminating foods that would promote a pathogenic yeast or fungal problem in the body.

Likely, though, there are some benefits––particularly when you are just getting started on the Kaufmann Diet––to keeping track of your macronutrients. For some, there may be some benefit in restricting foods that are permissible on the diet that has a higher carbohydrate content, such as Quinoa, particularly if you are not experiencing the desired results from the diet. This certainly is not necessary to experience success on the diet, but for many, it may be helpful.

For others who have been on the diet for some time, keeping track of your macros might be one more way to fine-tune your diet to optimize your health. Some people’s bodies do better with a higher proportion of carbohydrates as opposed to fat and protein. Some people’s bodies respond better to higher fat, or higher protein proportions and fewer carbohydrates. One of the goals of the Kaufmann Diet is to find your dietary thumbprint or the unique dietary protocol that best suits your unique biochemistry.

Tracking your macros on the Kaufmann Diet helps cultivate a sense of mindfulness about what you are eating; furthermore, it will assist you in tuning the Kaufmann Diet to your body’s needs. While the Kaufmann Diet is ultimately not about macronutrient proportions necessarily, tracking macros is one more tool you have to maximize your health.